this morning on "early today," undercover. reports say president obama has secretly authorized covert operations on the ground in libya. state of the union, ohio lawmakers vote to strip public employees of most of their collective bargaining rights. and small wonder, the upcoming nuptials between prince william and kate middleton get downsized. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation including the pacific time zone.

i'm veronica de la cruz. today we begin with covert operations. this morning, nato has officially taken over air operations in libya. reports say there is now a secret order for u.s. involvement inside the war-torn nation. although president obama has promised no ground troops will see action in libya, apparently there are americans working for the u.s. government there. for more, we go to nbc's tracie potts. good morning to you, tracie. >> reporter: veronica, good morning. this morning we have reports small groups of covert operatives on the ground, doing one of two things or possibly both, getting information of gadhafi's military sources or getting information about the rebels, the obama administration yet to say whether or not they will arm the rebels. lawmakers saying we simply don't know enough about them. also new its foreign minister defected to london, protesting the civilian attacks there.

part of the inner circle of moammar gadhafi questions raised about whether or not that means his inner circle is falling apart and new this morning, london has said he will not be offered immunity in great britain. he was accused of masterminding the lockerbie bombing and in fact helped secure the release of the lockerbie bomber. more on that to come. congress has gotten a briefing from the obama administration about the situation in libya, but they're not satisfied, lawmakers said they heard nothing new specifically. they were listening to hear an exit strategy and say they haven't heard that yet. veronica? >> nbc's tracie potts live for us in washington, thank you. pressure is mounting on japan to expand the evacuation zone around its damaged nuclear power plant amid concerns about radiation seeping from the facility. the u.n.'s nuclear agency says radiation in one village 25 miles from the complex is twice the suggested threshold for evacuation. anyone within a 12-mile zone has already been told to leave.

meanwhile, the country's emperor and empress made a rare public appearance wednesday trying to comfort the victims of the disaster. now there is new disturbing evidence regarding radiation from japan drifting to the united states. tests of milk samples in spokane, washington, indicate the presence of radioactive iodine from japan's nuclear plant. but the environmental protection agency cautions such findings are expected and they are far below levels of public health concern, including for infants. here at home after weeks of pro-labor protests focusing on wisconsin, the ohio legislature has voted to severely limit collective bargaining rights for public workers. amid shouts and jeers yesterday, both the house and senate approved the measure, which allows unions to negotiate wages but not health care, sick time or pension benefits. it also eliminates automatic pay increases and bans workers from striking. unlike the high profile measure in businessis with, ohio's legislation is in some ways tougher, since it extends the

union restriction tos to police officers and firefighters. republican governor john kasich is expected to sign the bill into law by tomorrow. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. in ohio, so much for march going out like a lamb. a spring storm pushing across the midwest made it messy getting around areas northeast of cleveland that were blanketed in snow yesterday. meteorologist bill karins will have more on that storm pushing east in just a moment. in florida, more wicked if weather across parts of the state. golf ball sized hail rained down in orlando. the fast-moving storms overturned a small plane and toppled trees on to roads and homes. at one point, leaving some 70,000 homes without power. in california, part of highway 101 has been closed to traffic after heavy rains triggered a mudslide in the northern part of the state. much of the road was heavily damaged, crumbling under the weight of tons of mud and rock. one school district in the area has canceled classes for the rest of the week due to

transportation and food delivery concerns. and in missouri, the spring snow didn't stop one couple from tying the knot on their field of dreams. the two lifelong cardinals fans had always planned to wed in busch stadium. as the snow fell, they said i do at home plate. hopefully the cards won't have the same fate today when they take on the san diego padres on major league baseball's opening day. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. oh. >> it was nice, they embraced it. >> it was great. >> what great photos and story they'll have and best of luck to the newlyweds. the west has been the warmest spot and today is probably going to be the warmest day we've seen in a while. a huge ridge of high pressure has built here. everyone heard about the big storm headed for new england, the nor'easter. usually when there's a pig storm on the east coast, the west coast is the opposite, storm free and very nice.

that's the case we're dealing with. you can see the clear skies over much of the pacific and down through california. the unfortunate part is that the jet stream is still bringing all that moisture up there into the pacific northwest, that's where it continues to be on the rainy side. it's definitely nice and mild down here from tucson back into areas of arizona, southern nevada and even portions of utah. now the radar, most of the rain once again is on the coast and in the mountains. temperatures are pretty warm, the snow levels are very, very high. it looks like some of the exceptions would be south of seattle driving down interstate 5 to olympia, one area where you'll have to deal with a little bit of rain. the forecast for today, look at l.a., warmest day you've seen in a while, 89 degrees, phoenix at 93, so you got people turning their air conditioners on here while in new england people using their snow blowers. 86 in vegas, beautiful day through central california. the problem areas up in the northwest, where we'll still deal with rain an

that's as nice as it gets, low humidity and 81. veronica, there's always got to be a winner an a loser and california right now is the winner. >> 89 degrees? that is so unfair. >> that's almost beach twl. >> i'm pretending, trying to channel spring. jobs jump, boeing flies and a billionaire cat fight. your "early" morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, her big tour plans are scrambled by another big name singer who refused to be anyone's opening act. coming up, push comes to shove between the heat and the wizards, deja vu for carmelo anthony and a glass shattering hit in the nhl. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning.

after meeting with senate democrats last night, vice president joe biden is reporting "good progress" in talks to keep the government from shutting down at the end of the next week. congressional negotiators have effectively settled on cutting $33 billion over the next six months. exactly 30 years after taking a bullet meant for ronald reagan, former white house press secretary jim brady visited washington yesterday to continue his push for tougher gun control. at a news conference on capitol hill, brady insisted he would not be in a wheelchair if congress would pass what he called common sense legislation. the obama administration is sharply criticizing the syrian president bashar al ashad for introducing any reforms, anticipating reform. within an hour, syrian troops opened fire on protesters in the one coastal city that saw deadly clashes last week.

nasa scientists are poring over stunning new images of mercury taken by one of his spacecraft which is on a year-long mission to map the planet's surface. the photos reveal a planet full of pok marks from pieces of asteroids and comets that regularly pelted at high speeds. and you know anticipation for england's upcoming royal wedding is running high when even the country's legoland pays tribute to the couple. the theme park created a model version of william and kate's big day at the gates of buckingham palace complete with all those well wishers. wow. >> and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,350 after gaining 71 points yesterday. the s&p added 8. the nasdaq was up 19. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei climbed 46 points and in hong kong the hang seng rose 76. well, despite world pleasures quietly and cautiously, wall street seems to

be slowly regaining confidence. while volume remained weak, all ten sectors of the benchmark s&p 500 rose wednesday, with that index back up over 5% for the year. wall street's so-called fear gauge is back down to its lowest level since mid-february. the big reason was jobs, showing further recovery in march. private employers added more than 200,000 jobs while planned layoffs fell, keeping hopes high for friday's broader government report. despite attacks its against t-mobile accusation, at&t led the dow up 2%. ceflon led the s&p 8% after valiant led a takeover bid for $5.7 billion in cash. oil services remain red hot. cabot oil and gas was up more than 5%, and has risen more than 41% just this quarter. chesapeake energy rose 3, up 32% for the quarter, and blackrock jumped 6% over news the company

will replace jen genzyne friday on friday. boeing is up after orders worth over $33 billion. finally, in business gossip, microsoft co-founder paul allen claims former partner bill gates plotted to water down his stake in the company before allen left for cancer treatment in 1983 and tried to buy him out on the cheap. allen makes the claim in an upcoming expert from "vanity fair" says gates later apologized. the wizards tangle with the heat and the blues pound on the wings and carmelo comes up big again. plus an absolutely shattering experience on the ice in north carolina. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. on this last day of march, we're watching wet weather exiting the east coast while the west coast, you're warming it up. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, carmelo anthony and the new york knicks rallied from way behind last night to beat their cross river rivals. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines.

>> good morning. the nets called last night's game their super bowl, an opportunity to show the world they could play with the knicks. well, if it was the super bowl, carmelo anthony is heading to disney world. the knicks scored 39 points at madison square garden. had only one bucket in the fourth quarter, but it was a big one. the jumper gave new york the lead with just over a minute to play. nets had a chance to tie. darren williams stopped and popped but couldn't get it to drop. knicks won, 120-116. fight night in our nation's capital between the heat and the wizards. john wahl covering zogavkus. wall came back with a body shot and then everybody got involved. in came mcgee and howard. ilgauskas, wall and howard were ejected, mcgee given a foul. jordan crawford was ready to play, kept washington in it until the end. he had a career high 39, but the heat simply too much. miami knocked out the wizards, 123-107.

possible playoff matchup hawks and magic give the edge to atlanta. tied game late fourth. joe johnson drove, got the runner to fall. magic with the last shot, needing a three. turkoglu didn't even draw iron. hawks won it, 85-82. finally, a few rarities from the nhl. the blues hung ten goals on the mighty red wings. st. louis put up five in the second period. nine different players scored. blues won by a touchdown, 10-3. in carolina, rutu with a heartless hit on hal gill that shattered the glass. but look closer. the piece that broke divided the bench from the fans and was not the pane that was hit. the hurricanes trainer was shourd with broken glass. thanksfully he was okay. just goes to show you, sometimes when you hit the glass, the glass hits back. that's your early look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. sports stars crossing over

into the world of showbiz. your "early" morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, imagine showing up at your local gym and sharing equipment with these guys. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this thursday. what a warm, beautiful day, what a treat from san francisco, san jose, sacramento right through the central valley down into l.a., san diego. one of the warmest days we've

had in a while. temperatures above average, 70s, 80s and a few 90s in the deserts. we're not quite as lucky in the northwest, where the jet stream continues to bring the moisture onshore so still showers for seattle and portland but most of the rain is in the mountains. friday, cooler in l.a. but you can't complain about 76 and sunny. phoenix inches up closer to a 100 degree day. watching us on king 5 news in seattle, washington, view the evolution of norman rockwell's american chronicles, the art of norman rockwell at the tacoma art museum. that's your pacific event of the day, veronica. >> it will be raining. >> on and off, they're used to it. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. most nfl players are very worried about the league's labor dispute, but for at least one player, it is actually thrilling. always hungry for publicity, cincinnati bengals chad

ochocinco is serious about soccer. the lockout gave him a chance to make the practice quad of a major league sport in kansas city, fulfilling his lifelong dream to play professional soccer. meanwhile the new york knicks' amare stoudemire is working on different dreams. he is the new man in grammy award winning singer sierra's life. and tmz sources are quoting enrique iglesias dropped out of britney spears' concert tour because his ego can't deal with being the opening act. weeks were spent hammering out a contract that gave him co-headliner status, and he agreed to the deal. earlier this week, spears held a new conference announcing the the tour, but hours later, she was snubbed by enrique because he just couldn't handle taking the stage first. hmm. what do you think? >> i think -- >> who is right and who is wrong? >> i don't think it passes the smell test, something fishy. you don't agree to it, go into

negotiations and all of the sudden wait, i wanted to go first. you'd think they would have worked it out. >> it's best for the two of them i think. >> and now i'd want to go see it. >> yes. this comes to us from wtvj nbc miami. a nearby north beach senior is looking to stay in shape, have a whole new incentive to hit the gym. this community center looks a lot more like training camp because for now it is. football players locked out of team facilities are working out with some unlikely gym mates. it turns out it's a win-win. players get to pump their off season iron and the older folks say sweating alongside a pro inspires them to work harder. i'm veronica de la cruz, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

one company in france has come up with what it calls an indestructible umbrella. the maker claims exceptionally light strong titanium and kevlar materials make it able to withstand 95-mile-per-hour winds, costing a reasonable $14,000, if there's anything reasonable about $14,000, the manufacturer says it can also fend off attacks for humans and dogs and for added bonus, it even keeps you dry. hopefully it picks up your dry cleaning and makes your breakfast, too. in croatia, they've taken easter egg decorating to a whole new level.

artists decorate enormous eggs. the giant pieces will be eventually given as gifts to neighboring companies. we have no information on how tall croatian easter bunny must be to carry these giant eggs. and for one cat in england, it is the purr-fect way to get into the record books. [ purring ]. >> with a purr that is 16 times louder than the average feline, the cat has made a bid to get into the "guinness" world records. her sound has been compared to a lawn mower or equal to a passenger jet heard from a mile away. [ purring ] >> listen to that thing. >> you wouldn't be able to sleep at night if it was purring. >> that cat is eating its wheaties for sure. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. in new york, funeral services will be held for geraldine ferraro, the first woman to run on a major party's presidential ticket. she died this weekend after a long battle with cancer. she was 75 years old.

the winnerss of the $319 million mega million lottery will reveal themselves today. the pot was won by a group of new york state workers who pooled their money to win the fifth largest jackpot in the state's history. and today marks a birthday of sorts for the eiffel tower. on this day in 1889 it was dedicated. it was the man's largest manmade structure until the completion of the chrysler building in 1930. happy birthday. all day long, you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with nbc "nightly news." and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. today takes you live to the front lines in libya. plus, four "new york times" journalists kidnapped by gadhafi loyalists speak out in an exclusive interview. and a first glimpse at late actress elizabeth taylor's love letters when she was just 17. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm veronica de la cruz.

thank you so much for watching "early today" just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.